Enhancement of Tomato Fruit Lycopene by Potassium Is Cultivar Dependent

By H. Taber, P. Perkins-Veazie, Shanshan Li, W. White, Steven Rodermel, Yang Xu. 2008

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The purpose of this experiment was to determine the response of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) cultivars with fruit of average and high lycopene to increased K fertilization. The field experiment was designed as a factorial, split-plot, randomized complete block with four replications. The main plot consisted of K rates ranging from 0 to 372 kgha -1 K as KCl, and the subplot was cultivar ('Mountain Spring' or the high- lycopene Floridahybrid, 'Fla. 8153'). Thesoil type was awell-drained, central Iowa loam withasoiltest level consideredlow.The soilK applicationeffect ontotal marketablefruit yield was linear (P < 0.001, Y = 53 Mgha -1 + 0.084x, r 2 = 0.51) with both cultivars responding similarly. Fruit K analysis indicated a linear response to fertilization across four harvest dates, from 1236 to 1991 mgkg -1 , fresh weight basis. Harvest date had no effect on fruit lycopene concentration, but there was a significant (P = 0.006) interaction of K fertilization rate and cultivar. Overall, 'Fla. 8153' contained 9.5 mgkg -1 more lycopene in fruit tissue than 'Mountain Spring'. 'Mountain Spring' lycopene concen- tration was not enhanced by higher K fertilization (44.2 mgkg -1 ). 'Fla. 8153' lycopene concentration increased 21.7% at the highest K rate compared with lower rates (62.9 vs. 51.7 mgkg -1 , respectively). A controlled greenhouse study in the fall of 2005 with the same cultivars indicated similar results. Fruit K concentration for 'Fla. 8153' was significantly (P < 0.01) correlated to the fruit carotenoids, phytoene and phytofluene, indicating apossiblerole for Kin oneof theenzymes that synthesize phytoene. Inthefield and greenhouse studies, increasing fruit K concentration in the high-lycopene 'Fla. 8153' depressed fruit b-carotene by 53%. These results indicate that K fertilization can affect carotenoid biosynthesis, and the response of tomato to a high K rate is genotype dependent.

Subfields: Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Plant Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/4bfbf64e6631df7efd0032e81fe027f45b4b34e3

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